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Tuesday, July 22, 2008

McCain Anti Woman?

Political commentary is a peculiar thing. The whole entire campaign season has been spent discussing Iraq, health care and gas prices. Then, suddenly on the same day, we have thesetwo commentaries attacking Republicans as being anti women. One of them was even penned by Hillary Clinton.

The first commentary attacks John McCain. Its title is even McSexist. I read through the commentary and between the demagoguery, demonization, and hyperbole, I only found one position which made John McCain "at war with women". It his history as pro life.

NARAL Pro-Choice America President Nancy Keenan says his shifting rhetoric is an attempt to “game” the electorate and confuse voters about his actual stances. “[The McCain campaign] knows full well that women in America, especially independent and pro-choice women, will not support a candidate who wants to overturn Roe v. Wade,” Keenan says. “So they’re still trying to make the case that he’s a moderate and a maverick, when his record proves that he is neither.”

The record also shows that McCain has rarely strayed outside Republican Party line on the issue of choice. He has consistently voted against measures to provide access to contraception and sex-education, and voted to approve anti-choice judges.

What, in the view of Hillary Clinton, is President Bush's assault on "Women's Rights"?

The Bush administration is up to its old tricks again, quietly putting ideology before science and women's health. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is poised to put in place new barriers to accessing common forms of contraception like birth control pills, emergency contraception and IUDs by labeling them "abortion." These proposed regulations set to be released next week will allow healthcare providers to refuse to provide contraception to women who need it. We can't let them get away with this underhanded move to undermine women's health and that's why I am sounding the alarm.

So, in other words, if you are pro life, then you are according to these two pieces, anti woman. It is ironic that a pro life position has now become seen as anti woman. That's because the original feminists like Susan B. Anthony were all pro life.

That said, this is the sort of political dialogue that has become all too common in our political discourse. If you are pro border control, you are a nativist, anti immigrant and anti Hispanic. If you believe in Creationism you are a religious zealot. If you are against gay marriage you are a homophobe. Of course, the conservatives have their own demonizations. Anyone for any tax hike or government program is a socialist. Any hint of dovish policies means you are a terrorist enabler. If you believe at all in global warming you are an environmental zealot.

It is the sort of debased political discourse that is the hallmark of those with a bad argument. Of course, it is also the sort of demonization that was also the hallmark of the Nazis. It is no longer enough to simply disagree with someone. Instead, if someone disagrees with you, they must also be demonized and marginalized. Here, anyone that is against any form of contraception or abortion is anti women. Of course, this is also just one example.

Of course, to be fair, one could even say that this piece of mine in which I compared Barack Obama to Karl Marx could be listed in such a category. Though, I was trying to be provocative and I used many examples to make my point. In the case of these two pieces, one singular position makes a whole group anti woman in the minds of some. This sort of demonization must stop. Our political discourse deserves better.